DON’T GO OUTSIDE

“Those angry planes are children
hurling stones. Look up often,
and if what you see is not a bird,
run home. If you must play
hide and seek, beware fake freedom
in the count to ten. Don’t close your eyes.
The world isn’t open. That school
marked ‘Refuge.’ It’s a hoax.
Don’t play in the streets. Don’t play at all.
When the call comes to run—from some man
named Mark who you don’t know—
hang up. It’s a prank. Where
could you possibly go,
except to the bones of the school,
the chimera’s mouth? Look up.
Are there vultures in the sky?
Don’t go,” she says, holding
my brother’s body in her arms.

 

 

D. Dina Friedman has received two Pushcart Prize nominations and published in numerous literary journals including Calyx, Common Ground Review, Kentucky Review, Bloodroot, Inkwell, Tsunami, The Sun, Anderbo, Rhino, and San Pedro River Review. Dina is also the author of two young adult novels, Escaping Into the Nightand Playing Dad’s Song. She has an MFA from Lesley University and teaches at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.